Wet Prospecting Shovels - information and questions

[Guest]

G'day

You just don't know where anything is made these days maybe its a "Chiclone" instead of a "Cyclone", it used to be that you knew you were getting quality when you bought familiar brand name products but not these days. :100: oop:

cheers

stayyerAU

 

[just starting]

Let`s do an engineering autopsy on what might have happened.

From what i can see and going on your information , it has been the subject of many hours of digging .

I will assume it has been used in creeks and streams alot and has been subject to continually striking hard surfaces and rocks. In doing so , the act of slamming a piece of metal ( ie ; shovel head ) into the hard surfaces will cause a considerable amount of jarring right from the bottom of the shovel to the top of the handle . As you are pounding the head of the shovel into the ground , you are also pushing on the handle which will have a certain amount of flex in it and will , in turn , push out and distort the inside of the metal top of the shovel where the handle goes into it. The wood handle will be stronger than the metal at the top of the shovel blade and therefore that makes the top of the shovel the weakest point of it . So , if you are jarring the shovel and pushing down on it for an extended period of time ,it will create a weak spot and a small fracture will , over time , start to split all the way to the edge of the metal .


I worked with 2 engineers when building 2 cars and they taught me about stress points and metal flexing . Everything has a weak point and this can happen .

The moral of the story is you have done alot of work with this shovel in 9 years and now it is time to say goodbye and move on .

But lets not overthink this . It is just a shovel !!!

 

[Dave law]

To add to the above post you cant dismiss swelling of the wooden handle when wet.

 

[goldtrapper]

Let`s do an engineering autopsy on what might have happened.

From what i can see and going on your information , it has been the subject of many hours of digging .

I will assume it has been used in creeks and streams alot and has been subject to continually striking hard surfaces and rocks. In doing so , the act of slamming a piece of metal ( ie ; shovel head ) into the hard surfaces will cause a considerable amount of jarring right from the bottom of the shovel to the top of the handle . As you are pounding the head of the shovel into the ground , you are also pushing on the handle which will have a certain amount of flex in it and will , in turn , push out and distort the inside of the metal top of the shovel where the handle goes into it. The wood handle will be stronger than the metal at the top of the shovel blade and therefore that makes the top of the shovel the weakest point of it . So , if you are jarring the shovel and pushing down on it for an extended period of time ,it will create a weak spot and a small fracture will , over time , start to split all the way to the edge of the metal .


I worked with 2 engineers when building 2 cars and they taught me about stress points and metal flexing . Everything has a weak point and this can happen .

The moral of the story is you have done alot of work with this shovel in 9 years and now it is time to say goodbye and move on .

But lets not overthink this . It is just a shovel !!!

I totally disagree, when you see shovels from years past that have had a horrendous amount of use, so much so that the blade is worn half way back. It's just not good enough.....

 

[Bjay]

I dont have a photo but that looks exactly the same failure as I had on one a few years ago. Pretty sure it was a cyclone too.

 

[Jemba]

Doc, I gave up on Cyclone & Trojan shovels a few years back now for that very reason. I think the recycled steel used now in the manufacturing of the said items, has a lot to do with the fault. Cyclone use to be the best of the best and you payed for that reliability, but not now you pay the same amount without getting the reliability. These days i am useing a cheaper type of shovel with a ring placed on the goose neck, and it has lasted well over 5 years.

Works for me. :Y:

 

[Brumble-Gum]

My cyclone did the same thing about 3 years ago, after only being used two times.
I took it back to Bunnings, they replaced it. The replacement is still going strong. Looks the same with rust on it from being submerged in water.
Might be time to get a replacement...just in case.

 

[Gem in I]

I have worm screws on all my shovels at the top neck for this reason because I like to put additional stress on this point when using for lever action. The worm screws can slice like a surgeons knife if not careful so I wrap some electricians tape.

 

[Martin]

You just don't know where anything is made these days maybe its a "Chiclone" instead of a "Cyclone", it used to be that you knew you were getting quality when you bought familiar brand name products but not these days. :100: oop:

Could be made here but cheap Chinese metal.

When I was doing boiler-making 20 years back a plate of steel come into the factory from China and we had to run a portable oxy cutting beetle machine over it, we kept getting little blow backs from when it hit little air bubble pockets in steel plate.... Just think they use low quality steel like that for buildings

 

[Gilly47]

BOTTOM line,, steel products made in Australia are to the local standard, which is missing in the current country

oop: oop: :100:

 

[sand surfer]

I have a good scar on a knuckle from a air pocket bubble from a piece of plate steel i was cutting, exploded out of it hit the shoulder and ran down the arm into the glove and sat on the knuckle could not dig it out, stuck to the bone, so of to hospital,the piece of molten steel was about the size of a 5 cent piece, good quality steel from china NOT

I have had pieces of farm equipment that i had repaired for farmers fall to pieces in 12 months ,main cause internal rust in the box or tubing,i told the farmers if they bought any more steel from that supplier, find some one else to do the rebuilds, some one was going to get hurt or killed,the rubbish was cheap as chips that's why they were buying it

 

[just starting]

Let`s do an engineering autopsy on what might have happened.

From what i can see and going on your information , it has been the subject of many hours of digging .

I will assume it has been used in creeks and streams alot and has been subject to continually striking hard surfaces and rocks. In doing so , the act of slamming a piece of metal ( ie ; shovel head ) into the hard surfaces will cause a considerable amount of jarring right from the bottom of the shovel to the top of the handle . As you are pounding the head of the shovel into the ground , you are also pushing on the handle which will have a certain amount of flex in it and will , in turn , push out and distort the inside of the metal top of the shovel where the handle goes into it. The wood handle will be stronger than the metal at the top of the shovel blade and therefore that makes the top of the shovel the weakest point of it . So , if you are jarring the shovel and pushing down on it for an extended period of time ,it will create a weak spot and a small fracture will , over time , start to split all the way to the edge of the metal .


I worked with 2 engineers when building 2 cars and they taught me about stress points and metal flexing . Everything has a weak point and this can happen .

The moral of the story is you have done alot of work with this shovel in 9 years and now it is time to say goodbye and move on .

But lets not overthink this . It is just a shovel !!!

I totally disagree, when you see shovels from years past that have had a horrendous amount of use, so much so that the blade is worn half way back. It's just not good enough.....

This what you are referring to . This is a good old fashioned shovel with the ring around the top of the blade where the handle goes in that i acquired from our old farm ,but the blade is as good as new !!! I pinched the original handle off it a little while ago to use on my rake.

 

[Goldtarget]

BOTTOM line,, steel products made in Australia are to the local standard, which is missing in the current country

oop: oop: :100:

Looked at the pack of screws I had to fix security door in place the other day as three in a row snapped on me....Aussie made. My comments prior to my glance at the pack probably warrant an apology to Chinese Manufacturing.

And yes holes were predrilled with a bit of hair grease and ratchet engaged on drill, just pure oop: screws.

Any way the memory of that heartache is still fresh. Cant trust anything these days.

 

[wiley coyote]

Fill the crack up with liquid nails,(not water based.) Fit 3 radiator hose clamps to it. That should fix it.

 

[goldtrapper]

Let`s do an engineering autopsy on what might have happened.

From what i can see and going on your information , it has been the subject of many hours of digging .

I will assume it has been used in creeks and streams alot and has been subject to continually striking hard surfaces and rocks. In doing so , the act of slamming a piece of metal ( ie ; shovel head ) into the hard surfaces will cause a considerable amount of jarring right from the bottom of the shovel to the top of the handle . As you are pounding the head of the shovel into the ground , you are also pushing on the handle which will have a certain amount of flex in it and will , in turn , push out and distort the inside of the metal top of the shovel where the handle goes into it. The wood handle will be stronger than the metal at the top of the shovel blade and therefore that makes the top of the shovel the weakest point of it . So , if you are jarring the shovel and pushing down on it for an extended period of time ,it will create a weak spot and a small fracture will , over time , start to split all the way to the edge of the metal .


I worked with 2 engineers when building 2 cars and they taught me about stress points and metal flexing . Everything has a weak point and this can happen .

The moral of the story is you have done alot of work with this shovel in 9 years and now it is time to say goodbye and move on .

But lets not overthink this . It is just a shovel !!!

I totally disagree, when you see shovels from years past that have had a horrendous amount of use, so much so that the blade is worn half way back. It's just not good enough.....

This what you are referring to . This is a good old fashioned shovel with the ring around the top of the blade where the handle goes in that i acquired from our old farm ,but the blade is as good as new !!! I pinched the original handle off it a little while ago to use on my rake.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/14279/1582618632_sh.jpg

Like that and I have seen some worn to half that size.

 

[Caesar]

Hey all,

I've noticed Vogus shovelling directly into his sluice in his last few videos - what's the general consensus here?

Seems to he a real time saver, but presumably it's not suitable for all types of gravel, eg heavy clay.

 

[aussiefarmer]

Spot on , if there's clay to breakdown you will loose gold , in the right sandy gravels or quick dissolving material it works well.

 

[20x]

Normally I figure things out for myself but when ya grab a shovel of ground down deep in water ya lose half of it on the way up.
I'm wondering if there is a possible shovel shape or maybe a super fine mesh edge like a net that could be engineered?

 

[7.62marksman]

You dont get as much but i use a trench shovel as it has high sides if that helps

 

[casper]

You dont get as much but i use a trench shovel as it has high sides if that helps

X2 on the trench shovel, I've used one for ever....